Crews work atop the Salt Lake Temple to remove the capstone and 12 foot 5 inch statue of the angel Moroni in Salt Lake City Utah, May 18, 2020 (Church Newsroom)
SALT LAKE CITY — The angel Moroni statue — that has sat atop the capstone of the Salt Lake City Temple since 1892 — will be removed Monday morning.
The removal of the iconic trumpet holding statue has been a part of the planned temple renovations announced in 2019, but the decision was made to accelerate the process after the 5.7 magnitude earthquake damaged portions of the building.
“This has long been planned as part of the temple renovation, but the timeline to do so was accelerated following the earthquake in March,” said spokesperson Daniel Woodruff. “The statue and capstone will be preserved and refurbished before being reinstalled at a later date. Work also continues to remove stones from the upper spires of the temple for preservation during the project. Those stones will be reinstalled in the future.”
The Salt Lake Temple was the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that was topped with the 12 foot 5-inch statue of the angel Moroni.
The statue was placed on the temple during the capstone ceremony on April 6, 1892 — exactly one year before the temple was dedicated. It is made of hammered copper and covered in 22-karat gold leaf.
Church President Russell M. Nelson made the announcement that the pioneer era temple would be undergoing renovations in April 2019.
During the planned four year closure the temple will see seismic and structural updates. Church leaders also say changes will be made to the surrounding Temple Square to place a greater emphasis on Jesus Christ.